KaeMaki Week 2018
by MythGirl Writes
Summary: My fics for KaeMaki Week 2018 (obviously). All fluff, no angst. Prompts: casual, flower shop, pregame, fairy tale, family, talent swap, and allergy
1. Day 1- Casual

**You expect me to let a ship week with two of my favorite V3 characters go by? You should know me better by now XD**

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"So? Still think ice cream is better?" Kaede took a massive bite of her cup of frozen yogurt, enjoying the sweetness of the cake batter flavor with the strawberry pearls.

Maki shrugged, swallowing a bite of her own coconut yogurt with pineapple. "It's good, and all of the flavors are imaginative, I guess." She looked at the childish, colorful decorations around the shop. "This place is awfully bright, though. Definitely a hotspot for children, right?"

Kaede grinned sheepishly, a light blush dusting her cheeks. "I may or may not have been coming here for froyo my entire life."

"Somehow, I knew it." Maki took another look around before glancing into her cup. "I'll have to bring the other kids here sometime, though. I think that would be a nice treat for them." They were both silent for a few minutes, eating more of their frozen yogurt. This was one of their better date ideas; some of the ones they'd thought of before had flopped, yet this one was (so far) very enjoyable. Maki glanced up to see Kaede staring out the window, the frozen yogurt on her spoon dangerously close to slipping off. "Careful you don't get that on your shirt."

Kaede glanced down and yelped, shoving the spoon into her cup before it could go anywhere near her mauve tank top. "Thanks," she said with a laugh, stirring her spoon a bit before taking another bite. "I was pretty lost in thought there, wasn't I?"

Maki shrugged, putting her spoon back into her cup. "What about?" Usually it was the other way around, where Maki would be the one thinking about something and Kaede would have to pull her out of it.

"Nothing much, just how adorable you look today." Kaede smiled as Maki's mouth dropped open from the obvious compliment. She'd only worn a scoop-neck red T-shirt and cropped jeans to their date, and even then she didn't deem it "adorable"; it was just the first outfit she saw in her closet that morning.

"U-um…" Maki trailed off, combing her fingers through one of her pigtails. "You, too."

"Thank you!" Kaede took a celebratory bite of her yogurt, completely oblivious to how flustered Maki was from her compliment. She knew for a fact that, given Maki doesn't socialize much with the rest of their class apart from Shuichi and Kaito, she didn't garner many compliments from their peers or anyone at the orphanage. That was when she decided that Maki deserved more compliments. "Okay, but frozen yogurt is so much better than ice cream."

Maki just gave her a tiny smile. "Fine, how about this. Our next date, I'm taking you to my favorite ice cream place. Then we can decide which is better."

Kaede beamed at her, eyes glistening. "It's a date!"


	2. Day 2- Flower Shop

Maki strolled through the seemingly endless aisles of floral arrangements, all of them meaning nothing in her mind. Still, she came here with a purpose, and she was perfectly intent on completing her goal.

"Welcome! How may I help you?" an overly cheerful sales clerk asked, approaching her. She certainly looked the part of her job, with her faded blonde hair looking akin to a dandelion's life cycle, punctuated with a large, annoying smile.

Maki frowned a bit before answering. "Do you know where I can find hydrangeas?"

The clerk muffled a laugh, her eyes twinkling in presumed amusement. "Honey, you're standing right in front of them."

Maki turned and looked at the pale blue and pink potted plants on the shelf, right at her eye level. "Oh." She picked up one of the pots and followed the clerk to the counter, trying not to let her embarrassment show.

"If you don't mind my asking, dear, what's the occasion?" the clerk asked while ringing up the flowers. Maki hesitated a moment before answering.

"My girlfriend has a big piano recital coming up, and she really likes hydrangeas. I would get her a bouquet, but she always gets plenty of those from her family and our friends. I want this to be more memorable," she answered as she paid, keeping her eyes on the counter while talking.

It was a bit embarrassing to admit for her- this was the first time she'd ever been in a relationship. Even so, she knew that Kaede was kind of nervous about this recital (though she wouldn't admit it) and learned from Kaede's best friend Shuichi that hydrangeas were her favorite flower. It was only natural that she would give Kaede a nice present like this. Besides, Kaede was complaining earlier about a lack of plant life in her room, for whatever reason.

The clerk's smile was gentle as she handed Maki the flowers. "Well, I think that's a wonderful idea! Please give your girlfriend my congratulations on her recital and tell her I apologize for not having a ticket."

Maki could only blink and nod at this strange request before leaving, flowers in hand. She could only hope Kaede liked them.

 **X-X-X**

Kaede paced around in her room backstage, her fingers running through the air as though she were already onstage playing. The crowd today was bigger than it had ever been, and a good number of her classmates and upperclassmen were there as well. She knew she shouldn't be nearly as stressed as she was, but she wanted to impress them.

A knock came at her door. "Kaede? It's me." _Maki_. Kaede stopped pacing and beelined to the door, nearly flinging it open. Maki, dressed in semi-formal wear for the recital, held out a clay pot filled with light bluish-pink hydrangeas. "For you."

And just like that, all of her anxiety melted away. Kaede took the hydrangeas and set them on the center table before doubling back and enveloping Maki in a hug. "Thank you, I love them. I love you." When she let go, Maki looked a bit surprised, but it quickly melted into a soft smile.

"I love you, too. You're going to be wonderful tonight." She gave Kaede a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'd love to stay longer, but for some reason the people who handed out tickets put me in between Kiibo and Kokichi, so I need to go make sure Kokichi's not annoying everyone in the area." She took Kaede's hand and gave it a squeeze before retreating, leaving the door open. Kaede didn't bother to close it; she needed to be ready in just a minute or two anyway.

She stepped back from the doorway and idly ran her fingers over the hydrangea petals. With the little daisy insignia painted onto the flowerpot, she recognized it easily as her aunt's flower shop. Maki probably talked to her aunt there and didn't even know it! She laughed at the thought, finally stepping back when someone popped in to warn her that she had two minutes before going on. She nodded at them, following them out and closing the door behind her.

Time for another spectacular performance.

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 **Thanks to MFwazza (so soon after I published it wow) and FandomDragon10 for favoriting and following and everyone else for reading!**


	3. Day 3- Pregame

This… was nothing at all like Kaede was expecting. She wasn't sure why Team Danganronpa was having all of the contestants meet each other before the game started, but here she was, in the middle of a group of mostly friendly people. She was honestly expecting everyone to be cutthroat, but to her surprise, everyone was mingling and talking with each other. And, after socializing with an outgoing blonde girl, one girl in particular caught Kaede's attention.

She was standing alone in the corner of the room, her eyes barely skimming everyone's faces before returning to the ground. If Kaede had to guess, the girl was the kind who didn't talk much unless she had something important to say. And this observation was what drove her to approach the girl.

"Hey, why don't you come off of the wall and talk to everyone?" she said by way of greeting, making the girl's already present frown deepen a touch.

"I don't really feel the need to," she told Kaede, her voice somewhat icy. "We're all going to be enemies soon enough."

Kaede crossed her arms and pouted. "Jeez, that doesn't mean you can't be nice!" She straightened her posture and smiled, arms at her side. "I'm Kaede. It's nice to meet you!"

"Maki." She glanced at Kaede for barely a moment before she began running her fingers through her long pigtails.

Kaede took a moment to really look her over. "You know, you really look like survivor material. Although, that may just be how cute you are. They tend to save ones like you for the very end."

Maki stayed silent for a few long moments. "Are you flirting with me?"

 _Yes._ "Maybe." She shrugged, her smile turning a little shy. She wasn't sure why she started flirting, but she knew she definitely wanted to. "I can stop if you want-"

"No, don't." Kaede blinked at her bluntness. "I mean… you don't have to. I've never been flirted with before, and you seem genuine, so…"

"Well, thank you!" Suddenly, her face grew serious. "Hey, we'll be friends in there, won't we? We'll make it to the end together."

Twisting one of her pigtails with both hands, Maki said, "I don't think anything will be guaranteed in there."

Kaede knew not to take that as an answer. "Promise to find me in there? Then I can flirt with you anytime you want."

"...Okay, I promise." Something flashed in her eyes for a split second before she averted them again.

Kaede beamed. "Great!" Leaning in, she quickly kissed Maki on the cheek before taking her hand and pulling her into the crowd, oblivious to the blush settling on Maki's stunned face. "And now you're going to meet everyone else!"

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 **Thanks to markiplier3211 for following and favoriting, and everyone else for reading!**


	4. Day 4- Fairy Tale

"Once upon a time, there was a young girl who was trapped in a tower. Her hair grew impossibly long and then a random guy she let climb it killed her captor. The end." Maki closed the book forcefully, signalling the end of her "story time." "There. Go to bed."

The kids surrounding her on the floor, already tired anyway, rubbed at their eyes as they staggered half-asleep to bed, leaving Maki finally alone.

"Do you always read fairy tales like that?"

Or not.

Maki reached a hand over her head, bringing it back down by her once Kaede clasped onto it. "It's already nine o'clock and I don't really want to spend my entire night recounting the same five stories of young girls being helpless without a man. Besides, we still have homework to do."

Although she wanted to, Kaede couldn't argue with either of her points. Fairy tales seemed to have a running theme of women not being happy without their Prince Charming. "I don't want to start the homework yet, how about we find the right fairy tale for you?" Kaede suggested, leaning over and resting her chin on Maki's shoulder.

"That's not going to happen, and besides, I'd rather not have a failing grade in literature," she said, standing and taking the worksheet out of Kaede's backpack. "Let's see… Are you kidding me?"

"What? Let me see!" Kaede snatched the sheet away from Maki, her eyes skimming over it. "'Pick a classic fairy tale to read and analyze.' What a coincidence!" She grinned at Maki. "Now you _have_ to find the right fairy tale."

She shook her head, gesturing to the stack of fairy tale anthologies near them. "This is due tomorrow, isn't it? We don't have time to go through this entire stack of books and analyze one. How do you even analyze a fairy tale?"

"Central theme, recurring moments, symbolism, that sort of thing," Kaede reminded her, sitting on the arm of Maki's chair. "Just pick a book out of the pile and turn it to a random page."

Maki rolled her eyes and chose the top book, opening it to the center page. "'The Blue Rose?' I don't remember ever reading this one."

Kaede, on the other hand, positively lit up. "Oooh, this was one of my favorites! It's a Chinese fairy tale, you know. Go on and read it, then we can start the worksheet." She planted her chin in her hand, watching Maki reluctantly read through the two pages. Maki looked up once she was done, and, excitedly, Kaede asked, "Did you like it?"

"It was alright." Maki pushed the book aside, pulling the worksheet closer to them. "What do we analyze first?"

"Wait wait wait. _It was alright?_ How can you say a tale about true love on the woman's terms isn't beautiful? It's a bit like 'Moonlight Sonata' by Beethoven, flowing and rich from measure to measure or word to word-"

Maki cut her off. "As much as I love your rambling about piano pieces, I just don't see the charm in a tale like this. Nobody should be forced into marriage anyway, so one story out of millions where that doesn't happen isn't going to change my mind."

"Hmph, fine." Kaede glanced away as Maki wrote the first sentence on their worksheet. She smiled a bit, seeing two of the older kids peeking around the corner at them, one having the gall to make kissy faces. Maybe she could have a bit of fun with this… "Maki? I wrote a little poem earlier, can I recite it for you?"

She looked up from the paper, staring deadpan into her eyes. "Why? We have to finish this worksheet, and you haven't exactly been helping much."

This was when Kaede broke out her puppy eyes, watching the kids constrain their giggles out of the corner of her eye. "Pretty please? It's a short one, and then I'll help with the analysis."

Maki sighed and put down her pencil. "I don't really have a choice, do I?"

"Nope!" Kaede took a breath in, her smile nearly splitting her cheeks. "Roses are red, roses are blue, if you were the white rose, I'd choose you!"

Silence, other than the muddled laughter of the kids.

"You did not just make a pickup line poem from that fairy tale. I _know_ you didn't just do that." But, for someone who's words sounded like she would be mad about it, she could barely keep the laugh out of her voice. She leaned over and kissed Kaede on the cheek. "Thanks. Oh, and if the two hiding around the corner would go to bed-"

Immediately the sounds of scampering footsteps filled the air, along with Kaede's giggles. "Now that our little audience is gone, we should finish this worksheet before we fall asleep."

"Good idea."

And so, the girls managed to analyze the fairy tale and get an A+ on their analysis- mostly because they were the only pair that handed theirs in- and lived happily ever after.

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 **Thank you to FoxOnPie for following and favoriting, and everyone else for reading!**


	5. Day 5- Family

**...Not gonna lie, kind of hate how this one turned out.**

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"I don't know, do you really think I should come?" Maki asked over the phone, slipping on her favorite boots while avoiding the kids running around her.

"Of course you should! It's only dinner, and Kaori always brings her boyfriend anyway. And besides, you're practically family already," Kaede's tinny voice reassured her, the sounds of shuffling paper in the background.

Maki hummed, but she wasn't completely convinced. "Okay. I'll be there in five, that alright?"

"See you then!" Kaede hung up, leaving Maki to head out the door with a goodnight to the younger children, whose bedtime was well before she was set to come back.

Kaede's house was only a five minute walk from the orphanage, something both of them were surprised to learn the first time. Knowing this, Maki took her time, walking at a slow but steady pace. She was loathe to admit it, but she was a bit nervous about meeting Kaede's family. Well, she said _family_ , but she'd met Kaori enough times for her to consider them on friendly terms. Of course, given Kaori's love of teasing Kaede, she wasn't going to make this "meet the family" thing any easier.

She arrived at Kaede's house much earlier than she would've liked, but she didn't need to knock, because she'd barely gotten there when Kaori barrelled outside and knocked into Maki with a hug. Maki was only caught off-guard for a second, mostly used to Kaori's rambunctiousness.

"Hi, Kaori," she said into the blonde hair that flew into her face.

"Hey, Maki! Kaede would've come out, too, but she's helping Dad set the table." She finally let go, and Maki was once again struck with disbelief that anyone could get the Akamatsu twins confused. Kaori was shorter, for one- closer to Maki's height that Kaede's- and they had such differing personalities that talking to one right after the other could give you whiplash.

Maki nodded, following Kaori inside and taking a look around. Pictures of their family were lining the walls, the few other decorations arranged to look more open and welcoming. She was led into the dining room, where Kaede, Kaori's boyfriend, and Kaede's father were finishing setting the table.

Kaede, naturally, was the first to greet her. "You're here!" Maki braced herself for another hug, but had to admit that this one was more welcomed than the last. She'd mostly gotten used to how physically affectionate Kaede and her sister were. "I'm so glad you could come."

The smallest of smiles pushed its way onto Maki's lips. "Thank you for inviting me. Hi, Yuki," she added when Kaori's boyfriend waved at her.

Mr. Akamatsu set down what he was holding and greeted her with a bow, which she reciprocated. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Maki," he said, his voice deep but not intimidating.

"It's a pleasure to meet you too, sir." She smiled as warmly as she could as Mrs. Akamatsu walked into the room from the kitchen. "Thank you both for welcoming me into your home."

"It's not trouble at all," Mrs. Akamatsu said with a bow. "Dinner is just about ready, why don't you five take a seat while I bring everything out?"

Kaede nodded, taking Maki's hand and leading her to one of the seats around the table, sitting down next to her. "See? They already like you," she whispered with a smile. "I told you this would be fine."

"You did," Maki said quietly. She was glad everything was turning out well so far, and she could feel that the rest of the night would continue that way.


	6. Day 6- Talentswap

**Just because their talents were swapped doesn't mean their personalities were ;-)**

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Maki enjoyed her lab. It was one of the only places where nobody would bother her, where she could lose herself to the rhythm of the music playing, where she didn't need to worry about being tormented by anyone or called names.

When Kaede was with her, though, it was a different story, but not necessarily a bad one.

"I don't get why you don't share your talent with anyone else," Kaede said one day, sitting next to Maki on the piano bench after Maki had finished playing one of her favorite pieces. "You're so talented, I would love to have a talent like yours."

"It's not all it's cracked up to be; no talent is," Maki pointed out, shuffling the sheet music on the stand. "You of all people should understand that."

Kaede smiled sheepishly, as though she had been caught stealing the last cookie. "I know my talent is unsavory, that's why I would rather be able to play the piano as well as you can."

Maki just stood up and stalked over to her stack of CDs, rummaging through them until she found one in particular. "A lot of people seem to think I'm more cut out to be an assassin than you," she said as she slipped the CD into the player in the corner of the room, pressing play and letting the gentle melody slip over them. It was a rule to her that if she wasn't playing music, she had to be listening to it in the background of conversations. It was the only way she would be able to keep her temper in check.

"If by a lot of people you mean Kokichi, he can shut up." Kaede's laugh was light, almost matching the tone of the music perfectly. Not an entire day could go by without Maki wondering what their dynamic would be like if Kaede were the pianist and she were the assassin. She figured she'd probably be treated the same way she is now, and Kaede probably would have less teasing from Kokichi and generally less wariness towards her. Although, Maki had her fair share of wariness simply because of her demeanor and her only hanging out with the same three people.

Not that she cared.

The track in the player transitioned into a more angry, emotional song, not-so-subtly reminding Maki of all the times people called her emotionless because she put her emotions into her playing. If everything were different, she'd have no trouble punching their lights out, but she didn't want to jeopardize her hands. Kaede had offered on a few occasions, but she'd turned her down, not minding kicking them in the shin instead.

"You don't think that a lot of our lives would be made easier if our talents were swapped? You haven't ever thought about it?" Maki was deadly serious, staring into Kaede's eyes.

"No, and it's kind of concerning that you think of it so often," Kaede answered, her hands latching onto Maki's wrists in what she supposed was a soothing gesture. "I've learned to accept my talent, and it helps to think that so many of my targets are truly bad people. You don't have that kind of thing weighing on you, your next target or your next kill or being found out. You only have to worry about your next recital or learning your next piece. Do you know how hard some people work to play piano as well as you, only to have it come almost naturally to you?"

Maki's eyes narrowed a touch. "You almost sound like you're talking from experience." She glanced at her piano. "Is that why you stick around here so often? Do you like piano?"

Kaede blushed a bit, caught in her act, and let go of Maki's wrists, lacing her fingers together behind her back. "I mean, that's not the only thing in this room that keeps me coming back." She paused, letting Maki take in this information. "But I used to try and learn to play the piano, and I guess I've always been a bit jealous of how easily it comes to you."

"Why didn't you ask, then?" Maki allowed a small smile onto her face as she turned off the CD player. "Sit down, I'll teach you."

"R-really? Thank you, Maki!" Kaede sat down immediately, so eager that she was almost bouncing. Maki vaguely wondered how such a loveable dork came to be the Ultimate Assassin. But then, she didn't really care. Kaede was Kaede was Kaede.

And she was perfectly happy to keep it that way.


	7. Day 7- Free Time- Allergy

**Let's round this off with a little HC of mine ;-) Thanks for reading!**

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There are times when Maki doesn't feel like murdering Kokichi, believe it or not.

"Come on, just eat it!"

This was not one of those times.

Maki sat across from Kokichi in the dining hall, leaning away from him. "I'm not eating your cookies," she told him for the eighteenth time, taking a second to glare at the on-lookers- because for some reason, most of her class enjoyed watching her suffer.

"Guys? What's all the fuss about?" Kaede asked as she walked in, rubbing sleep out of her eyes.

Kokichi looked at her and, not even a second later, burst into crocodile tears. "Maki won't eat my cookies! She's so meeeeaaaaan! Waaaaaaaaaaah!"

"He can't force me to eat something I don't want to," Maki said matter-of-fact before standing and starting to exit the room.

"C'mon, Maki Roll, he'll quit whining if you eat one," Kaito said, scratching the back of his neck and avoiding her eyes as she sent him a death glare for his use of that nickname.

Even Tenko nodded as Kaede picked up a cookie and started eating it for herself. "They're actually kind of good- for a degenerate male, at least." Even with the addition of the last remark, she kept glancing at the plate like she wanted another.

The rest of her classmates chimed in with their thoughts, leaving Maki even more irritated than she already was. "Fine. If you'll all get off my back, I'll eat one." She started reaching for the plate, but was stopped when Kaede's hand latched onto her wrist.

"No, you won't," she said with a stern glance at everyone else. "They're peanut butter chocolate chip."

"Oh." She retracted her hand once Kaede let go of it. "I stand by my original statement, then. Thanks, Kaede."

Kokichi looked between them, curiosity brimming in his eyes. "Do you not like peanut butter or something?"

Maki shook her head, tapping the silver bracelet adorning her wrist. "I'm allergic to peanuts."

"And I would've thought that the rest of you knew that," Kaede added. "Have you seriously never wondered what the writing on her bracelet was?"

Kirumi spoke up before anyone else. "If I may be honest, I _have_ wondered why Maki never touches food from the cafeteria that includes peanut products."

Kaede looked at Maki in utter disbelief. "You didn't tell anyone else?"

She shrugged. "They never asked, and you're always with me, anyway."

"Obviously not always! What would've happened if you ate one of the cookies before I came in? Do you even have an EpiPen on you?" Her hands were square on her hips and her voice sterner than Maki had ever heard it. Everyone, even Miu and Kokichi, was staring at her in shock.

"...Sorry?" Maki could only stare at Kaede as well, barely able to respond verbally. She'd never really have someone make a big deal out of something like this. The people at the orphanage knew not to give her anything with peanuts when she was a kid, and when she started working as an assassin they deemed her old enough to not eat something that would send her into anaphylactic shock.

Shuichi was the first to get out of his shock. "Um, Kaede, are you feeling alright?" he asked, stepping forward a bit.

Kaede shook her head slightly, probably realizing how loud she was. "Sorry, I'm fine," she told Shuichi. "I just don't want my girlfriend to die because I wasn't around to help."

Maki's face was likely as red as her shirt as those two specific words rang out. That was the first time either of them had referred to the other that way in front of their classmates, and it showed on everyone's equally surprised looks.

"Well it's about time!" Tenko broke the silence by cheering, pumping a fist in the air. Beside her, Himiko nodded, restraining a yawn.

"Atua knew this was going to happen eventually," Angie added, hands folded neatly in front of her, "and he gives you both his blessing."

The rest of the room was silent for a moment. "Good to know," Kaede finally said. Maki didn't look at anyone, to busy staring at and playing with one of her pigtails. "Maki, why don't we go to my lab? There's a new piece of music I want to play for you."

Maki only nodded and stood up, still not meeting anyone's gaze. As soon as they were out of the dining hall, Kaede pulled her into a hug. "Please never do something like that again," she mumbled into Maki's hair. "I don't want you to get sick or die because of not having your medicine with you."

"Okay, okay. I'll remember to bring it next time, alright?" Her words sounded a bit angry, but she made no move in pushing Kaede away. "Don't worry about me so much."

Kaede finally pulled away, a reassured smile on her face. "I can't help it, that's what girlfriends do, right? Come on, I really do have a new arrangement I want to play for you."

"Of course you do." But Maki let herself be pulled along, the corner of her lips twitching up in an almost-smile. So this was what it felt like to be cared for. Now that she knew how it felt, she liked it.


End file.
